The present invention relates to a vehicle accessory with a sliding cover and particularly an armrest with a storage compartment having a hinged cover assembly having a base and a slidably mounted cover.
Vehicle interior components are increasingly including convenience items for the vehicle operator and passengers. Center consoles located between seats is a typical accessory with may include a storage compartment having a hinged cover also forming an armrest at the top of the console. In the past, the armrest covers could be raised on a hinge mechanism to expose a storage compartment. Some armrests can be slidably moved to a variety of adjusted positions for comfortably locating the armrest for supporting the passenger""s and/or operator""s forearm. The following patents disclose adjustable armrests or armrests with various storage compartments: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,598,948, 4,818,017, 5,076,641, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 34,333, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,433,509, 5,562,331, and 5,810,434.
A difficulty with some adjustable armrests or consoles with adjustable armrests is that the mounting mechanism can be very complex and, therefore, expensive to manufacture and prone to failure during use. As a result, there exists a need for an assembly for a vehicle interior component which includes a sliding, hinged cover for gaining access to a storage compartment and preferably one which also defines an armrest which can be adjusted to a variety of positions for use.
The system of the present invention provides these features in an economical and reliable system in which a storage compartment includes a hinged cover assembly with the assembly including a base hinged to the storage compartment and a cover slidably mounted to the base by a slide assembly. The slide assembly, in one embodiment, includes a U-shaped rod which is secured to the base and a pair of sleeves mounted to the cover with a polymeric slide material extending between the rod and sleeves to allow the cover to slide with respect to the base. The cover assembly can be pivoted open to gain access to the storage compartment. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the cover defines an armrest and the base, when uncovered by moving the cover forwardly, includes a storage tray, cup holder or other accessory, which is stacked above the storage compartment to provide vertically stacked storage areas. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymeric slide is integrally molded between the rod and sleeves to provide the sliding interface between them. Such an assembly is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, durable, and reliable to provide the desired functional features for a sliding armrest cover.
These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings.